


will you find me in the water and swim me to the stars?

by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)



Series: rare ships [36]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mermaids, F/F, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, H2O: Just Add Water Inspired, Mako Island, Mermaid Erica Reyes, Mermaid Hayden Romero, Mermaid Tracy Stewart, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Mutual Pining, Secret Crush, Tracy and Erica Are Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:25:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/foxerica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted <a href="http://foxerica.tumblr.com/post/137950325637/three-sentence-tralicia-mermaid-au-fic-puppy-dog">here.</a> (The original request was for 3 sentences. Oops!)</p>
    </blockquote>





	will you find me in the water and swim me to the stars?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KuriKuri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuriKuri/gifts).



> Originally posted [here.](http://foxerica.tumblr.com/post/137950325637/three-sentence-tralicia-mermaid-au-fic-puppy-dog) (The original request was for 3 sentences. Oops!)

❤ ❤ ❤  

 

Tracy swims through the tunnel to the cave inside Mako Island. She usually feels a sense of pride in coming home, but today, it’s different. When she reaches the surface, her pod is waiting for her. She already knows what’s about to come. Tracy presses her lips together and braces herself.

“What did you _do?”_  Erica demands when she sees her. 

Erica has always been an overprotective sister, taking stupid risks to make sure that Tracy is safe. She knows it’s one of Erica’s risks in protecting Tracy that got the three of them kicked out of their larger pod. She knows that Erica and Hayden are desperate to go back, to be with the hundred other mermaids and mermen. She knows it’s her fault they had to form their own little pod.

Only Tracy doesn’t feel like what she did today was wrong - even if that’s exactly how Erica and Hayden will see it.

Tracy pushes some wet hair out of her face, leaning against the wall. She huffs. “Hello to you too.”

“Tracy, you can’t really blame your sister for asking,” Hayden points out.

“I did exactly what either of you would’ve done! She needed help. You _heard_  her in the sea, didn’t you?” Tracy asks. She looks down at her hands, playing with them, unsure of herself now. She wishes she could be more like Erica and Hayden - strong, confident, and _sure._ She wants to be able to stand up for herself, but how can she?

“I didn’t,” Erica responds. “Did you, Hay?”

“No.”

“Interesting,” Erica says, nodding slowly. Tracy lifts her head, looking at her older sister. She’s too afraid to ask _what_. Erica’s cool eyes never leave Tracy. “The sea gave the girl’s request specifically to you. I wonder why.”

“I don’t know. But I couldn’t just leave her there!”

“Did she wake?” Hayden asks.

“No,” Tracy lies. It comes out almost effortlessly. She thinks of the girl’s big brown eyes, the way her expression softened when she saw her, and how her big lips parted. Tracy knows if her pod knows that the girl saw her face, saw her tail, that they’d have to leave. It’s all about protecting the secret of mermaids, and she understands. She’s heard the terrible stories about the humans who used mermaids as science experiments and lab rats.

“Good,” Erica responds. “Don’t check up on her - no matter how much you want to, Trace. If we ever want to go home, we have to make sure we can prove that we’re worthy. We can’t get into even _more_  trouble, okay?”

Tracy nods, but she knows she’s already in trouble. The image of the girl’s big eyes and her soft face will haunt Tracy until she sees her again.

 

❤ ❤ ❤  

 

She feels the sea nudging her late at night. Tracy wants to push it away, but it prods her until she wakes. She glances at her sleeping sisters before she starts to swim away. Her heart pounds harder as she feels the sea urging her to hurry.

When she reaches the girl, she slows down. The girl doesn’t look to be in danger like the sea might have her believe. No, in fact, she seems relaxed as she floats on her back humming. The waters vibrate with the noise. Tracy can only feel positive vibes running off the girl.

Tracy doesn’t dare swim closer. But then she sees a fish too curious for it’s own good. She waves it away, causing some of the water to ripple.

The girl kicks her feet a little harder, before flipping over and diving underneath. Tracy tries to hide behind some seaweed, but she can’t resist peeking.

When the girl pulls herself out of the water, onto the dock, Tracy pops her head up underneath the wood. She feels as though she’s almost invading this girl’s privacy, but she’s relieved. Her accident with the water hadn’t made her scared to swim again. Tracy sees the water dripping between the cracks and edges forward to look at the girl’s smooth dark legs.

The reason Erica, Hayden, and Tracy had been kicked out of the pod had been because Tracy had entered land. Not many mermaids ever dared to use their power - once their tail is dry, their tail turns into legs. Awkward human legs. Tracy had wanted to walk with all the pretty people. They seemed to always be rushing around and she wanted to know _why._  Whenever they laid out upon the sand, they looked lazy. But sometimes she’d creep up to peoples’ docks and no one ever seemed to stay still there.

Walking hadn’t been easy. She’d fallen over a dozen of times before she’d finally gotten used to it enough to stand in one spot. Tracy hadn’t even talked to anyone. She’d stolen some clothes off a rope, and had started to slowly walk around with the people. It’d been so _fascinating_  being with them up close. They learned about humans in their pod. They learned about their powers to have legs if they wanted. But the other mermaids were _so_  scared to join the people here.

Tracy had just wanted to know what it was like.

She hadn’t made it very far when some water started spraying from the grass. Instantly, her tail was back. She tried to drag herself back to the sea to avoid being seen, but her tail was too heavy against the grass.

That’s when Erica and Hayden had come to save her. They seemed more comfortable with their human legs, and Tracy later learned that it’s because they used to sneak up on the beach at night when they were growing up. The pod had threatened them - said it was too dangerous, and they could no longer do so.

Erica and Hayden dragged Tracy back into the sea. They all immediately went back to their little cave in Mako Island. It wasn’t until nightfall that the pod caught wind of what happened. They banned the three girls and then left, carrying on to find a new home. Feeling helpless and as if there was no where else to go, the girls decided to stay and make Mako their home.

Tracy’s so wrapped up in her thoughts, she jerks when she hears the girl above her speak. Her voice is soft as she murmurs, “I wonder if you’re out there somewhere, watching over me like a guardian angel or something. If you can hear me…I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life.”

Tracy’s lips curl. She knows that this is beyond dangerous. She knows that she should sneak closer to the girl’s legs. But she can’t help herself.

“You were so beautiful, and I…I owe you my life,” the girl continues. “I won’t tell anyone your secret. I don’t really have anyone to tell, anyway. I mean, there’s my older brother, but I don’t want to bother him. He’s too stressed working two jobs just so I can get through high school and go to college. He’s so…and I’m…I’m so grateful you saved me. I wouldn’t want to leave him here alone.”

“What happened to your parents?”

The words leave Tracy’s lips before she can stop them. The girl’s legs still. Tracy swims out past the dock and turns slowly. The moonlight beams on the both of them, lighting the girl’s face up.

She doesn’t seem scared. In fact, her lips curve upward and she waves.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Tracy echoes.

“My mom died a long time ago. Cancer. My dad was an alcoholic drunk. I don’t know what happened to him. One day, we came home and he was gone,” the girl tells her. “You speak English?”

“I speak many languages,” Tracy responds. She keeps her voice hushed, afraid someone else might discover her. “We’re taught at least six growing up. Why aren’t you scared of me?”

The girl shrugs. “I saw hundreds of you…of merpeople once. I must have been eight. I thought I’d run away from home. I came out to the beach in the middle of the night. And there you all were. Little heads above the water. I didn’t realize they were merpeople until I saw them all duck under water, and their tails came above the surface. I never told anyone. I knew they wouldn’t believe me. My brother found me and took me home.”

“Merpeople,” Tracy repeats the word. “I like that word.”

“I don’t know what you call yourself.”

“Mermaids and mermen. I always thought it was very dividing,” Tracy answers. She realizes that this is the biggest mistake she could be making. Not only had the girl seen her face, but they were _talking about her kind._  Tracy swallows. “What’s your name?”

She has to know. She can’t go through life not knowing.

“Alicia,” the girl responds. “And you?”

“Tracy,” she answers. “I must go. I’ll be in so much trouble if anyone found out that you know our secret.”

Alicia leans over the edge of the dock a little more. “Wait–Tracy?”

Tracy hovers a moment.

“Will you come back and visit me?” Alicia asks.

Tracy knows the answer is supposed to be no. She can’t risk this _again._  But she whispers, “Yes” before disappearing under the surface. Tracy forces herself to make her way back out to Mako.

Erica and Hayden can never know. She settles back into her spot against the rocks, closing her eyes.

 

❤ ❤ ❤  

 

It becomes a habit. Tracy feels the sea wake her and she swims out to meet Alicia at the dock. Sometimes Alicia gets in the water to join her. Tracy held her hand once and pulled her along with her for a fun ride. Alicia’s laughs had echoed over the water like magic.

Alicia asks all sorts of questions, but sometimes it’s something Tracy doesn’t really understand like _do you like peanut butter?_  And then the next time, Alicia brought bread and peanut butter for Tracy to eat. It had been wonderful.

Tracy had brought Alicia little gifts too. Pretty shells from the depths of the sea. A dead starfish that had dried up for a decoration in her sleeping quarters. Tracy had even found some cool seaweed to share with her, but she’d ended up tickling Alicia’s feet with it until she laughed and jumped into the sea with her.

It’s dangerous. Every time it gets even more dangerous. Tracy feels a little wild, a little reckless, but she can’t resist. Alicia is too beautiful, too kind, and too wonderful. One night, Alicia asks Tracy if she can walk on land. So Tracy gives up the secret of _centuries and centuries_  without thinking twice.

She joins Alicia for walks on the beach sometimes. Her walking is getting better, but she still leans on Alicia for support.

“I love it when the water curls into the beach like this,” Alicia murmurs one night. Tracy has human legs, and they’re sitting on the cool sand, looking out at the sea. Alicia’s fingertips are resting lightly against the tips of Tracy’s. She stares at Alicia in the moonlight. How could someone be so simply stunning? Alicia’s lips curve slightly. “Listen to that? It’s so relaxing.”

Tracy smiles. Alicia has been fascinating to get to know. She seems to work hard to make it work in this world, helping her brother in any way she can, and yet she can find the most simple things beautiful.

Her entire body goes still when she hears her sister’s whisper. It’s probably too quiet for Alicia to hear. She jumps up onto her feet, almost losing her balance, and says, “I have to go. I–I might not be back, Alicia. But you need to know…you need to know that this has been amazing. Getting to know you has been the best thing I’ve ever done. You make me feel things I didn’t know I could feel and–thank you, Alicia, for sharing your world with me.”

“Tracy, wait–” Alicia says, rushing to stand up.

Tracy hovers for a moment. Alicia steps forward, pressing her lips lightly against Tracy’s. Her heart pounds faster and harder than it ever has before. When they pull apart, Tracy puts her fingertips to her lips.

“Please come back to me,” Alicia whispers.

Tracy doesn’t say another word. What can she say? She knows Erica is going to be livid. They’re never going to forgive her. She tries not to let Alicia see her heart break before she turns and runs down the dock. She dives into the water, ensuring to kick her tail above surface to say one last goodbye to Alicia.

Her sister glares at her all the way back to the island.

Tracy’s prepared for the screaming. She’s prepared for the speeches of disappointment. What she’s not prepared for is the tug that the sea gives her to go back to Alicia. She ignores it. She has to.

“What the hell are you doing?” Erica demands. Her voice is cool and controlled.

“I…” Tracy realizes she doesn’t have much of an explanation.

“You could’ve gotten caught!” Hayden snaps. “You were with that human girl, weren’t you?”

Tracy nods her head. “You don’t understand…she’s not like they said she would be. She’s kind and trustworthy and funny and–”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Erica snaps. “Was it worth it? Risking all of this? Risking _never_  being part of the big pod again? Was it worth it?”

Tracy’s fingers instinctively touch her lips. She feels the urge to smile. She breathes, “Yes.”

“It was…worth all this?” Hayden asks.

“Yes. You’d understand if you met her,” Tracy promises.

Hayden and Erica share a look. She knows that this fight isn’t over, that they’ll gather their few items and head off to start fresh somewhere else. She looks back down at the underwater tunnel to the other side of the island. It’d be so easy to swim back to Alicia. To be with her.

“Alright, maybe we should meet her,” Erica finally says.

Tracy’s eyes snap towards her big sister. “What? Really?”

“Yes,” Erica answers, nodding. “I’ve never seen you so sure of something before, Tracy. She’s clearly important to you so…Hayden and I would like to meet her tomorrow night.”

“She’ll be there,” Tracy murmurs.

 

❤ ❤ ❤  

 

It was only time before their secret came out, Tracy knows. She dries her tail by the dock before she stands up and looks around for Alicia.

Her heart pounds harder when her eyes meet hers. Tracy runs. She hadn’t even known that she could. Erica and Hayden are trailing behind her, she’s sure. But she runs and they collide in a messy hug, rocking back and forth.

“You made it seem like I’d never see you again!” Alicia says, sounding so relieved.

“I didn’t think I would,” Tracy whispers back. “But my sister and Hayden wanted to meet you. They’re not like the other merpeople, you know? They’re the good kind. They wanted to meet the person who made me so happy.”

Alicia laughs, and Tracy joins her. Alicia cups Tracy’s face with her hands, eyes shining bright. “You make me so happy too. I just…I have to tell you something.”

Tracy’s stomach drops.

“My brother wanted to know why I came home crying. I told him that…I met you. Not who you are, really. Just that I’d fallen in love with someone I might never see again. He came with me–” Alicia drops her hands from Tracy’s face. One of them finds Tracy’s hand and then Alicia turns. “Boyd, she’s here. She came back.”

A tall, dark and handsome man steps forward. He studies Tracy for a moment. Immediately, her sister is at her other side.

“Who’s this?” Erica demands.

“I’m Alicia’s brother. Who are you?” Boyd asks, eyeing Erica carefully as if he doesn’t know whether he likes her or not.

“I’m Tracy’s older sister,” Erica says. She steps forward. “Why are you here?”

“I came to be with my sister, who believed _your_  sister wouldn’t be here. I didn’t want her to be alone,” Boyd answers. He gives her a nice smile before holding out his hand. Erica eyes his hand as if it’s going to bite her. Tracy nudges her with her elbow before Erica accepts his hand in a quick shake. “I’m Boyd.”

“Erica,” she says. She turns back to Tracy and Alicia. “You’re the girl who has my baby sister singing at all hours?”

Alicia beams. “That’s me. It’s really nice to meet you, Erica. I’ve heard so much about you. And you must be Hayden.”

“Hi,” Hayden greets.

“This is my big brother. He’s trustworthy, I promise,” Alicia says. “There’s no one else I trust as much as him. And Tracy, of course.”

“What’s going on?” Boyd asks. “Am I missing something? Why did Alicia think that she’d never see Tracy again?”

Erica hums a moment before she says, “Why don’t you take a walk with Hayden and myself?”

He snorts at first, but she gives him a leveled look and he realizes she’s serious. He waves his hand out and says, “After you.”

Tracy and Alicia walks them away. She turns back to the love of her life and says, “Why do I have a feeling that they’re going to end up in love?”

Alicia laughs. “Because I have the same feeling. Who cares as long as we’re together. I didn’t think I was going to see you again after last night…”

“I know. But it turns out that Erica and Hayden aren’t nearly as strict as our previous pod. I don’t really know why Erica changed her mind about something so serious. But I figure Hayden probably gets it. She was in love with a merman named Liam. He was in our old pod and was forced to leave with them. He tried to stay but…his mother is the leader of the pod, so he really didn’t have a choice.”

Alicia brushes her fingers against Tracy’s cheek. “Our lives couldn’t be more different. Do you think…?”

Tracy closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she’s smiling. “The sea tells me not to worry. I’ve found home.”

 

❤ ❤ ❤  

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you ship tracy and alicia _at all_ please let me know
> 
> I need to love you
> 
> find me on [here.](http://www.foxerica.tumblr.com)
> 
> ps. also this was inspired heavily by h2o: just add water, and lightly by [carrie's](http://www.bleepobleep.tumblr.com) book.
> 
> title is from ingrid michaelson's _at the end of the world_.


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